02 December 2009

Algae 'sex tapes' and other micro marvels

I'm already fascinated by the marinelife that we can see with the naked eye, sometimes with a lot of squinting, especially if it's something Chay Hoon found. But there's a whole galaxy of other creatures and features that we can't even see on our own!Here's some of the winners of the 2009 BioScapes competition. And taking third place is a series of photos of algae doin' it. Fascinating!

Third Place: Algae Sex

An algae "sex tape" snagged third place in the 2009 BioScapes competition. The time-lapse movie of the two-hour process shows the "power of sexual attraction even in simple algae," according to a statement by contest organizers. Biochemist Jeremy Pickett-Heaps, of Australia's University of Melbourne, filmed the cells squeezing through narrow fertilization tubes that partner cells had just built between them (seen above in a series of still images).— Photograph courtesy Jeremy Pickett-Heaps, Olympus BioScapes

Sixth Place: Sting Cells

Few would willingly approach the Portuguese man-of-war's venomous tentacles. But biologist Alvaro Migotto of Brazil's University of Sao Paulo took the risk--and won sixth place in the 2009 BioScapes competition for this up-close image of the animal's bubblegum pink stinging cells. A delicate muscular band surrounding the cells (seen in light purple) allow the tentacles to easily contract into a gas-filled, floating chamber.— Photograph courtesy Alvaro Migotto, Olympus BioScapes

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